Half of My Heart
by just.breathe16
Summary: An enemy separates the Mamoru and the scouts's souls from their human bodies. Now Usagi and the newly awakened Shittenou must each find and awaken them. Will the scouts remember the Shittenou from their past lives? How will they beat the new evil? SEN/GEN
1. Chapter 1

**The following is a story I've had ideas of writing for awhile now. I'm taking it slowly, so my posts will not be close together. Maybe every week. I'm mainly posting it chapter by chapter to gauge how well people are liking it.**  
**I have the whole story mapped out, it's just a matter of putting the map into scenes and dialogues.**  
**I don't own Sailor Moon, nor do I make any profit from this story.**  
**I hope you enjoy.  
R&R! :)**

* * *

The downtown hub of Tokyo was just beginning to settle down from its day of hustle. Despite people being there every hour of the day, after two am it was always less crowded. People were pouring out from bars and nightclubs; restaurants were locking their doors; taxis were being hailed then quickly puttering away.

The buildings of Tokyo were always seen to rival any from the modern world. Tokyo built its buildings like it pictured itself; always on the up. Giant sky scrapers packed tightly together divided streets. The glass from the office buildings took on the scene of the sky around them; now resulting in a blackish blue.

On the roof of one of these scrapers, a pigeon cooed and took flight. As the shadow of a flock of pigeons came and went over the roof, a man appeared in the newly vacant spot the pigeon had just left. Stepping onto a short ledge and looking down the twenty floors, the man smiled and pulled out a pack of matches.

After waiting for a wisp of wind to breeze by, the match caught and ignited. He covered the small flame, and brought it to the cigarette dangling on his lips. Inhaling the sweet tar, the man whipped the match out, and tossed it over the ledge.

Two puffs later, another shadow caressed the building's roof. The man, sensing the presence, gave a small laugh.

"Back so early, Demkal?"

The now corporeal presence bowed low upon greeting the man. "Yes, my master."

"One would think that being back this early would result in not fully doing one's job, but I believe you have the information?"

The youma trembled slightly. When master was upset, he would take his fury out swiftly and brutally. Three nights ago he had murdered Demkal's brother upon learning that the demon had been seen by a human child. Any straying from the path would guarantee her death. Demkal bowed even lower than she already was; she could smell the dirt littering the roof. Her long, dull, orange hair swept the debris.

"Yes again, my master."

"So, just what are our friends up to?"

Demkal breathed again after hearing his response. She was not dead yet. Her lime green eyes lit up upon knowing he would enjoy her information.

"They are all unsuspecting. I have followed each of them, and I have noted their behaviours, routines, and relationships."

"Good. Good. Anything of odd to report about them?"

The demon paused for a moment while thinking back to her spying.

"No, my lord. They act as normal human beings with their work and families. They will be easy to break."

"Ahhh yes. Family. What a precious, little thing." The man took another puff from his cigarette. "A thing that can easily be broken as I have learned from time and time again." Ha paused, staring down below while his hands seized into fists. "What about your special assignment? What about **him**?"

As the man said the last question, a look of repulsion overcame his face, and he chucked the half smoked cigarette over the ledge to join the previously tossed match. A quick turn let him see the object he was speaking to.

"Does he know? Does he suspect?"

Demkal shuddered. His looks could pierce one's soul without even making eye contact.

"No. No, my master. I used special care with him. Although he consults with the others quite frequently, he remains unknowing."

The man crossed his arms in angry curiosity. "What do you mean he consults with the others? Do they have some form of relationship together?"

"Yes, sir. The blonde one sees him daily; more than daily. I have more often than not spotted them living together for large periods of time. They look to… 'love' … each other."

The man scared Demkal then by releasing a loud burst of laughter into the late, night sky.

"Love? They love each other? How amusing." Demkal noted that her master's tone sounded anything but amused. He began pacing in front of the youma.

"How **dare** him." He fumed. "How dare he live his new life as if none of our problems had ever happened. It's his entire fault. The coward. He ruined my life years ago by just existing, and now I am forced to watch him ruin my life now? No. No, I shall not stand for this. I shall not st-"

The man stopped suddenly. A faraway look grabbed his face. Demkal used this moment to lift her head the slightest fraction of an inch upwards. She had always been fascinated by his ability to receive visions. This was the first he had had since his lady's reign had ended.

When her master's head shook slightly, Demkal quickly lowered her head back to the ground and waited for him to speak first.

It was after several minutes that a small chuckle came from the dark man. His chuckle soon strengthened and became a full out laugh. Evil laughter oozed out of his mouth like water in an overfilled sewer.

The man finished his laugh and walked back to the ledge turning his back on Demkal once again.

"It appears that we have forgotten some crucial players."

Demkal's back went rigid. Had she forgotten something? "P-Pardon, my lord?"

"I have had a vision. Since the tragic death of my queen, I have lived in the catacombs as a depressed fool, but now… Now, I can lead her army's to the victory we deserved. Demkal." The man stared her down with an evil smirk. "I have another mission for you."

"Yes, sir."

Demkal straightened as her master gave her the new mission details. Although she was fairly certain her task was next to impossible, she would attempt it. After her master finished her details, she vanished.

The man clasped his hands together. 'Now, now, now, I am left to finish what should have been done years ago. This night, I shall bear witness to the beginning of the end for this world, and the uprising of the Negaverse.' He smiled as he looked up at the full moon hovering in the sky high above him. The moon's light washed over his face, but no feelings of peace overtook him; instead, it was a feeling of excitement

'I will end them.'

* * *

The large, sudden explosion shook the buildings lining the once quiet street. Sirens could be heard coming from the distance, but, with the amount of destruction in the city's wake, the ambulances would not be arriving to this particular street. There were too many victims to look after.

Frantic citizens could be seen running from their houses with their loved ones and a few minor possessions. Cars were packed tight with people and were racing out of the small city of Juuban. Some brave souls were trying to put out the fires and protect their homes. Maybe it was the fact that they had lived in this city for all of the other odd disasters, but some citizens were determined to stay put.

A man shouted to his wife frantically for her to retrieve another bucket of water. The woman looked worriedly towards the spreading fire and dashed in. The man threw his bucket down and raced towards the mini-van that two small children were in. Hushing them while speaking soft words, he hugged them, and tuned back around when he heard his wife.

"Julie, I'll take it from here. Watch the kids." The man shouted while running to the fire. He threw the water as high as he could, but it did nothing to ease the flames. He cursed loudly and made to go back inside. A shout from someone stopped his actions.

"You have to leave."

The man looked towards the voice, and he noticed the outline of someone at the end of his driveway. Since the power died in the area an hour ago, he couldn't make out a face.

"Who are you?"

The figure didn't move. "It doesn't matter. You just need to leave before worse things happen."

The man fumed. "That's what I'm trying to prevent. My putting out this fire will let my family keep their home. I'm not going anywhere. You leave." The man shouted as he grabbed his bucket and began to run back in.

Before he could make it to the door, he was pulled back by an overly powerful arm that tossed him onto his front lawn.

"What the hell? Who do you think you are man?"

"I'm the someone that's going to make sure you have a city, much less a house, to get back to, but I can't do that if you're doing stupid things. Your family is sitting in that van crying and being scared. Stop worrying about bed sheets and glass bowls and be their protector. I told you to 'leave', so it's up to you how you want to do that. You can drive away with your family, or I can personally kick you out… literally."

The man pushed his small glasses back up on his nose. "Who are you?"

The figure stood straight. The flames from the growing house fire reflected onto the figure creating a brief silhouette. The man made out the wisps of two, long pig-tails before the figure jumped up and into the darkness.

On the roof of the adjoining house, the figure watched the family bundle into the mini-van and peel down the road. 'You'll be able to come back soon.' She thought.

Another explosion sounded, and the figure turned to the now ablaze gas station with a large frown. 'I hope.'

* * *

The sound of running footsteps echoed between the buildings. Small gasps could be heard in between the steps. The sight of the battle scene caused her to slow. A pounding heart and sweat-soaked forehead forced her to gasp as she made it to a stop beside her comrades.

As the newly reunited group stood together shouting obscenities and ideas, a new blaze of fire shot out from the mouth of the youma and into the evening sky. The interruption and the new source of light lit up the silhouettes of five, shocked women.

"Mercury, just when were you going to tell us that it could do that?" A red-suited senshi shouted to her blue-haired teammate.

"I honestly had no idea, Mars. The initial scan didn't show off the proper chemicals in its body needed to accomplish such an explosion. I hadn't taken into account the particles in the air. All those stores it's destroyed have changed the atmosphere surrounding it. With the right mixture, it's now a walking flame-thrower!" Mercury argued back.

The figures glanced to the youma that was bent on taking down an abandoned apartment.

"What do we do?" yelled a brown haired soldier clad in green and pink.

"Flame-thrower huh?" Mars questioned as she smirked at the demon, "Well then I'll fight fire with fire."

"Mars stop-" cried the blonde-pigtail warrior standing to the side, but she was cut off as Mars leapt from the building and into the youma's vision.

"Want to play on my turf, tough guy?" shouted the feisty, black-haired Mars warrior, "than let's see what you've got! I'll pump you so full of fire, you'll be begging for water. Mars Burning Mandala!"

Swirling balls of fire swarmed together, increasing in size, as Mars outstretched her hands and threw it towards the offensive youma. The youma faced the fire, and, with a large stretch of its mouth, blew back fire of its own. The two stood locked in the duel.

* * *

On the nearby building, the four remaining girls watched as both youma and scout battled.

"We have to do something. Mars was first on the scene, so she's got to be tiring by now." Venus told as she surveyed the scene looking for any tactical advantage. The small street outlined by buildings shoved together basically meant they were just bowling pins in an alley waiting to be struck down.

"I think we need to move this fight: to the park, the outskirts, anything not as crowded as this. If we let the youma pick the place, we're toast." Venus looked to the others for their comments.

Jupiter nodded, "I agree. We'll have to draw it elsewhere, but where?"

Venus threw her arms out, "Anywhere. This whole city is abandoned."

The women stared at the emptied city, looking for a new battle site. No one noticed Mercury shoot up from her computer.

"Water."

Jupiter and Venus turned back and stared at Mercury. Sailor Moon continued watching Mars battle, but she mumbled her response back to Mercury.

"Really Mercury, now is not the time to demand a drink. Rei is in tr-" Usagi got cut off as Mercury walked over to Usagi and shoved the computer in her face.

"Uhhh, I don't speak Mercurian."

Mercury looked quizzically back at the computer, "This is in another language?"

"Yeah. Why do you think none of us read that thing?" Jupiter piped in.

"Oh. I had just never noticed. It just felt like I was reading it norm- ... That's not the point. I meant we need to lead it to water. This youma has already shown us that it thrives on fire. Mars idea of fighting fire with fire is not going to work. We need to get it in water; perhaps the lake. It should disorientate it enough to destroy it."

"Great thinking Mercury!" Jupiter said as she clapped Mercury on the back.

Venus stepped back to the edge of the building and watched the battle. "Yes, but let's praise the one with a brain later. Mars is still down there."

"How are we going to get the youma out of here?" Sailor Moon questioned.

"Ever hear of Marco Polo?"

"Oh, I love that ga-"

"Not the GAME, Sailor Moon. Mercury means the actual person." Jupiter quipped to Sailor Moon before looking back to Mercury to verify her answer. "Right, Mercury?"

"Actually, Jupiter, I did mean the game and, Sailor Moon" Mercury turned to face her, "since you love that game, you're going to lead us into it."


	2. Chapter 2

I posted early (same day) since I just could not sleep last night. I'm stuck in this dilemma where I write until I'm tired, but, when I go to bed, all I can think about are new things to add. Hmmm  
Anyways, here's the next part.  
Just an little A/N that this story is going to be a long one.  
So, for all those viewers that love epics, buckle down :)  
(I don't own SM, nor will I make any profit from this story.)

* * *

The flames from the senshi and the youma burned on. Mars had given up trying to hit it with her different attacks. The time and energy it took to charge up was giving the creature too many advantages. In order to be able to at least stop its destruction of the city, Mars had summoned her power and was doing her best to keep up her wall of fire, but she was so tired.

Sweat trickled down her neck. Her arms felt like weights, and her legs were shaking from the spent energy. 'Where the hell is everyone?' She thought angrily. Her plan of fighting fire with fire was not working as brilliantly as she had thought, but that didn't mean everyone had to ditch her to prove a point. She had already done more battling that day than in the past few months combined. It just happened to be her luck that she was stuck walking home when the monster struck.

'How does that even make sense?' Mars questioned quickly. 'Youma's are designed for maximum destruction and retrieval of energy. It makes no sense for it to be attacking in the middle of the night. There's barely anyone to attack. Could it be a rogue youma?' Mars tried understanding the reason, but the youma took a step forward causing Mars to put more force behind her fire wall.

'I can't do this much longer. I have to let go, or I'm going to pass out.'

As Mars searched for a solution, some more sweat trickled down and landed in her eyes. Momentarily blinded by the stinging liquid, Mars felt her stance falter just briefly. That moment was enough.

The youma heaved a large breath and blew it directly at Mars. Mars gasped and dove out of the way. There was no way she could have held that blast back with her shield. She was too tired. The strength of the heat alone had her feeling faint. As the fire slightly dissipated, Mars tried to scramble to her feet. It took her a few seconds to gain the strength just to stand. The youma, with its crocodile like jaws saw its prey still standing and snarled. A clash of those powerful jaws signaled the rampage. Mars stood there in shock as she waited for the youma to blast her.

As the few, last seconds ticked by, Mars felt no pain. Instead, she felt a cool breeze hit her and heard the snarl of the youma. Opening her eyes, Mars saw nothing. The fiery city was blocked out by a thick fog that had rolled in. Looking for the youma, she heard crashes coming from further away. Recognizing the fog for what it was, Mars staggered. 'Finally' she sighed as she felt her knees buckle to the ground.

* * *

Sailor Moon leapt from her current position to the one Mercury had assigned to her. 'I can't believe it's working.' She thought frantically. A part of herself was excited at the aspect of actually being right in a plan idea, but another, much larger, part was scared out of her fuku. This demon had single-handedly emptied the city. Something no youma had done before. 'Maybe all my hours of games will be paying off on this assignment.' She sighed hopefully and met Jupiter on the balcony of an apartment building.

"I didn't see Mars down there when I started luring it. I hope she is alright." Moon worried.

Jupiter gripped the railing, "She'll be fine. It's Rei. She's always strong, but we have to get this youma out of the way to ensure no one else will get hurt." Sailor Moon nodded at Jupiter's sentence. "Venus should be roping off all of the other exits now. When that is does, it'll be corralled into the lake. Hopefully Mercury will be right in saying water confuses it. It'll be up to you, once the youma is in the water, to destroy it."

Sailor Moon nodded her confirmation. Fear had momentarily frozen her vocal chords. Jupiter didn't need an answer as she was still surveying the scene. "Once I find Mars and get her to safe spot, I'll meet you. Remember; wait for the fog to lift before you attack. That's the signal. Got it?"

"Yeah, good luck Jupiter." Sailor Moon quietly wished as her teammate leapt down into the thick fog and disappeared.

The immediate silence that fell upon Sailor Moon's ears scared her. Of course there was the odd crash from below, and the distant whir of sirens, but the fact that all of her fellow scouts were down there, in an unseeable area, isolated her. She couldn't see what was going on, just like she couldn't be there to make sure nothing happened. It was Venus's idea that she wait up high by the lake, so that the second the monster was weakened and the fog lifted, she could destroy it. It made sense in her mind, but she still didn't have to like it.

As she waited for the signal, Sailor Moon looked up. Since she was so high up, she only had to deal with a few wisps of Mercury's fog, but that was not enough to cover the full moon from her view. She had found herself staring at the orb far more than normal recently. Especially on nights when the moon was full, she had sat down and just lost herself in the calm it emitted. It had taken her awhile to get used to the fact that that was her real home. She had been both born and killed on that planet, yet she knew so little. Of her death, she knew all the facts, but she knew nothing of her life there. Did she have any pets? What colour was her bedroom? Who did she play with while growing up? Those small things were the ones that were bugging her. The other fact that her four best friends all used to reside on other planets was another hurdle she had yet to fully overcome.

What was life like back then? Was she as klutzy as she is now? Did she get to see the girls often? Considering they were from other planets, it was amazing that all 5 of them even met each other, yet she had no memory of their lives together. Maybe she was alone a lot. Stuck with tutors and dignitaries… except for when she was with Mamoru.

Usagi sighed. Was she even sure that she did spend time with Mamoru? He lived on Earth which had made him an enemy to the Alliance. How could she have been able to love someone from an enemy planet? When did she find the time to love him?

'Maybe I was a rebel.' Usagi suddenly thought. A grin escaped from her worried face for just a fleet second. 'Yeah. I was a rebel princess who just wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. Who were they to tell me I couldn't date whomever I wanted to date? It's their fault. Something was bound to happen when I practically live alone with no friends to occupy all my lone days.' Her smile slipped as she grimaced at that last thought. 'Who could blame a girl for falling in love with a forbidden man when she barely had anyone else to talk to?'

Sailor Moon's intimate stare with the orb was cut short as a larger roar than normal rose out of the fog. She jerked her gaze down to the thick, grey fog praying for a sign from anyone. The sounds of the youma proved that it had to be right beside the lake. Maybe it could sense the water and was freaking out. Another growl erupted, and it was followed shortly by Jupiter's lightning descending into the mist. 'That's it. I'm going, sign or no sign.' She decided.

As Sailor Moon grabbed the rail in an effort to heave herself over it, a sudden, gut-wrenching ache filled her body. The ache seemed to time perfectly with a scream that pierced the night. 'That wasn't the youma.' She thought wildly while grabbing the sides of her head in an effort to concentrate. The pain, which felt like a thousand knives attacking her stomach, mind, and chest, blinded her. Her heart began pounding as if she was running a marathon, and her vision blurred from the thundering headache.

'The…senshi' she made out as her racing heart began to beat louder than her thoughts. Her weak legs gave out, and she fell to her knees. 'Help… please… please'.

Another gut-wrenching ache filled her body, but the only sound she could hear this time was the scream emitting from her own throat. As she tasted the coppery tinge of blood in her mouth, Sailor Moon swayed. Not being able to take any more, she crumpled to the floor of the balcony.

* * *

Tuxedo Kamen stood outside on the balcony of his apartment surveying the scene. What had started as a routine youma had quickly turned into a full scale pandemic. Feeling the sense of Sailor Moon in battle, Tuxedo Kamen had tried to reach her only to be distracted.

So many families were trying to escape the rush that they were trampling each other. He had even seen people begin to run over an elderly man. Realizing he had to help the citizens out, he rushed to their aide. When, at last, the final people scrambled for their cars and high-tailed it away from the explosions, Tuxedo Kamen was at a loss. Fog had settled in so thickly that he could barely make out the buildings.

The distant crashes gave him a general course heading, and he made way on foot towards the scene.

As he tried to gather his surroundings a few minutes later, a woman's scream from his right caused him to freeze. It had sounded so full of hurt and pain that it almost felt like he was the one being inflicted. He began to run towards the scream only to feel the pull that was unmistakably Sailor Moon.

Knowing she would know what was happening, he reluctantly slightly changed direction towards the outskirts of the park. The more closer he came to the old, elderly, apartment complex, the stronger his pull was reacting. She was somewhere in there.

Another scream emitted from the fight nearby, but it chorused with the slightly lower tones of another. Tuxedo Kamen stopped before entering the highrise. The sounds of those screams scared him. Why was Sailor Moon not over there helping whoever was screaming? How could she not feel their pain?

As the screams began to die, Tuxedo Kamen heard the fourth scream high above him. Sailor Moon.

He began jumping from balcony to balcony. His speed was ever increasing. Never before had she screamed like that. It sounded just as horrible as the other ones. 'Please, anyone, do not let her die.' He said the silent prayer as he continued jumping.

* * *

Sailor Mars had finally gotten the strength to stand back up. After passing out for who knows how long, she had looked for the others, but the fog still hovered over everything. It was so quiet, too quiet. Not daring to call out in case the youma was not destroyed, Mars decided she had to go find them out.

She had no real idea where she was going. The only clue she had was to follow the evil vibes she was getting that were pulling her towards the small park just past the downtown core. As she dragged herself up and started moving, Mars pulled out her communicator.

Pressing Sailor Moon's channel, she was reached with static. Another press showed Venus's was the same. Jupiter and Mercury were absent too, so she figured they were too busy to answer her page.  
Listening intently for any signs of the others, Mars continued to limp down the ransacked street towards the small lake.

* * *

When the tug from his soul stopped pulling, Tuxedo Kamen stopped jumping. On the ledge he had landed on laid Sailor Moon unconscious.

"Sailor Moon!" He shouted as he ran to her, "Sailor Moon, wake up!"

The lack of response worried him. Taking his glove off, he put his hand underneath her nose. 'Please breathe.'

The slight wisp of breath that tickled his finger felt like the world's greatest miracle. "Thank God" he sighed while gathering her into his arms.

"Usagi, are you there?" He asked while softly shaking her, "C'mon. Answer me, please. Usako!"

Tuxedo Kamen clutched her tighter as he rocked her slightly in his hands. Praying that some miracle would allow for him to pass her his energy, he closed his eyes and soothed the fallen moon warrior.

* * *

The small park was known in the city for being the perfect Sunday retreat. Not being too far away, and not being packed with stores or carts, everyone loved the tranquility and quietness of the Juuban park.

As Sailor Mars wandered through the gates or her childhood play ground, she did not feel any of those feelings. The quietness was now eerie, and the tranquility was replaced by nervousness. 'Where is everyone?'

Checking her communicator again, Mars sighed at her predicament. She was wandering through a park towards a youma that had somehow disappeared in an abandoned city, and her friends were nowhere to be found. "This one is officially the worst."She mumbled.

A slight bend in the path had Mars finding herself on the shores of the lake. Faintly hearing the laps of the water, she began walking to the water's edge. As she neared, something blocked her path, and she fell.

She gasped at the pain from her bruises being hit, but she still managed to turn and see what she tripped over. Waving her hands to move the mist, Mars gasped as she saw the outline of a body. Pushing through the pain, she rose to her knees praying whoever it was wasn't dead.

As she tugged the body over, a sense of dread began to fill her gut. When momentum came through, and the body rolled over, Mars understood her gut better. She was staring at the body of Sailor Mercury.

Mars cried out as she gathered the water senshi into her arms. "Ami!" She shouted, shaking her wildly. "Ami, wake up damnit." Her throat was already weakened from her fight, yet she continued shouting to Ami. "Don't you dare do this. You're a sailor senshi. You're not meant to lose. Ami!"

Nothing was getting through to Ami, and Mars began to be hysterical. Shaking the petite girl wildly, Mars didn't even feel the tears stream down her face. "AMI" she shouted, "WAKE UP, NOW. THIS IS NOTHING. WAKE UP!". Her last sentence tore off as she began to heave. Her thoughts whirled together to create a massive blur. No longer did she care about being quiet. No longer did she care for the youma. She needed to help Ami.

"HELP ME PLEASE! I NEED HELP! SOMEONE, ANYONE, PLEASE HELP ME" She screamed until she collapsed on Mercury.

Mars's tears continued to fall, some splashing onto Mercury's face. Mars stared down upon realizing she was crying all over her. Mortified, Mars ripped her soiled and torn glove off then began to wipe the dirty tears from Mercury's face. When the traces of her tears were gone, Mars stared at the woman's face. She smooth the ruffled hair to the side in order to get a full view of the girl that was now gone. As she was pushing back the rebel bangs refusing to stay to the side, Mars saw something she had not noticed before.

"What?" She uttered as realization set in. "How is that even po-"

"Ahhh, there you are. I've been looking all over for you."

Mars threw her head up and looked to the source of the voice. "Who's there?"

The man clucked his tongue, "Tsk Tsk Mars. You're not exactly in a position to make demands now are you?"

Mars turned her head as the voice now sounded from a direction. 'What is going on?' she wondered. "What did you do to Ami?"

The man slightly chuckled, "I did nothing to Ami. She's perfectly fine."

Mars felt the fire begin to rise back up in her body. 'How dare he.' She pushed herself to her knees, "I will end you, you arrogant asshole. Bring your face down here, so I can burn it to ash."

Another chuckle sounded from the mist. "Honestly, you can't even stand. I don't think you should even be on the side of good considering you're not worried about getting your friend to a hospital. She could die you know."

Mars looked around frantically. 'What?' She thought. 'Ami wasn't dead?'

Glancing down to the woman, Mars took a shaking hand and put it to Ami's neck. The faintest pulse echoed off. "She – She's alive!" Mars gasped, "Ami, can you hear me?"

The sound of footsteps approached from in front of Mars. As she glanced up, she saw the dark silhouette of the man. Wishing she had the power to fight, Mars clenched her fist in frustration. "Stay back!" She shouted.

The figure stopped, "That is very unlikely to stop me, Rei." The silence made the man smile. "Ahh, so you're shocked I didn't know your name? Well I'm not. It's quite easy to find out if you pay attention. Even my underlings found out. Shame on you. You call yourself a superhero. You couldn't even save your friends from one pathet-"

A small ball of fire burst towards the man. He stepped aside as it missed its target. "Well that was rude; trying to hit me like that."

Mars felt anger vibrate through her whole being. "Come closer, and I promise I won't miss." She said through gritted teeth.

"Oh, you'll miss. It'll be too hard to attack if you're in the same state as little Ms Ami."

"Don't you dare say her name" Mars threw out, "You make one move, and I will end you."

The man shoved his hand in his pocket, and pulled something out. He tossed the object from hand to hand. "I'll do as I wish when I wish. You're in no position to threaten me. I dealt with 3 of you already, and you're about to join them." The man's voice grew a little quieter as he stepped towards Mars. Mars gripped Ami tightly.

"I have a little message I want you to give someone very important."

Mars shuddered as he finally came out of the mist and into her view. The short, blonde hair was racked with streaks of black. A weathered face gave way to two brown eyes so dark that they looked black. Mars stared into those eyes, but she felt no soul. There was no escape from this.

The man bent down until he was just slight above Mars. His breath moved her bangs, and she found herself stuck in his trance. The man gripped her shoulders and leaned in until his mouth was at her ear. The words the man said were short and quick. As Mars tried to understand who he was, the man took the object he was tossing earlier and held it in front of Mars. The object, a small, black crystal orb, began to glow intensely. As the glow strengthened, Mars felt a pain in her heart like no other. Her heart literally felt like it was ripping out of her chest. She let go of Mercury and clutched her chest tightly almost as if to keep her heart from leaving.

The man smiled as the black orb shone brightly, and he watched the horror on the woman's face in front of him as if it was a play. His laughter mixed with the screams that charged into the fog.

* * *

Tuxedo Kamen pushed the woman back onto the ground. "Stop it! You're in no shape to be moving." He shouted as she continued to struggle out of his grasp. "Sailor Moon, you're going to kill yourself."

Sailor Moon acted as if nothing was heard. She shook his hands off of her shoulders before quickly stumbling to her feet, and peering down to where the source of the final scream had come from. "Mars" she whispered.

As she gripped the railing and put her foot onto the ledge, Tuxedo Kamen grabbed her skirt and pulled her backwards. Sailor Moon crashed into him, and they both fell to the balcony floor.

"Damnit Usagi. Stop it. I won't allow you to endanger yourself further. You were almost dead." He shouted furiously to the blonde. What was happening? One second she was barely alive yet unconscious, and the next she was awake and streaking out of his hold. Something in that last scream had awoken her.

Sailor Moon stopped struggling and went still. Tuxedo Kamen took it as a sign of obedience and grabbed her hands. "Usagi, please. Just come with me. I need to get you safe somewhere before I go find the others" He said softly while trying to make eye contact.

Sailor Moon's eyes seemed almost glazed over as she stared straight ahead into the night sky. When Tuxedo Kamen started to move into the vacant apartment, he softly ushered her through the door. Sailor Moon seized the moment.

With a lightning quick reflex, she pushed Tuxedo Kamen into the glass doors and flew through the apartment and into the hallway.

He rose as quickly as he could; the glass cut his hands from trying to get up. 'What the hell is wrong with her' he questioned as he raced after her.

As he reached the bottom floor of the stairwell, he looked to the front doors and noticed the fog still swirling from her hurried exit. Relying on that fog, Tuxedo Kamen pushed forward and trailed after Sailor Moon.

* * *

The gates of Juuban Park groaned from almost falling off of their hinges. Silently, Tuxedo Kamen entered the park. There was a weight in here that did not settle well with him. The moisture from the lake had risen, and it immediately felt like everything was soaked. Trudging on, he followed the light swirls of mist indicating Sailor Moon's path. When the swirls suddenly stopped, he looked down.

Sailor Moon lay crouched on the ground rocking back and forth.

Tuxedo Kamen knelt down and put his arms around her shoulders, "Usagi? Are you okay?" Nothing answered him. He tried again, "Why did you come here, Usako?"

The only form of communication he received was the almost unnoticed nod of her head down towards her lap. As he leant over, he made out the shape of a woman's head.

"Mars!" He gasped.

Sailor Moon made no notion at the mentioning of the name, but just continued rocking and sobbing. Tuxedo Kamen looked around frantically at the fallen senshi. 'Was she dead?' He thought gravely. Hoping against hope, he shuffled down until he found an arm. Lifter her arm up in order to feel her wrist, Tuxedo Mask felt her pulse briefly. As he sighed in relief, he also felt something else.

Her fist was clenched oddly. As he tried to open her hand, he noticed she was clutching a paper. Using both hands now, he pried her hand open, and grabbed the parchment. It was an ofuda. Curious as to why she was clutching it, Tuxedo Kamen put the paper in his pocket.

The impact of their situation began to form on him, and Tuxedo Kamen frantically looked for any form of help. All he saw was fog. He crawled around hoping for some form of an answer as to what happened. When his hand hit flesh, he stopped. Another body.

Tracing the figure's outline, Tuxedo Kamen knelt at the head and blew some fog out of the way. Into his vision came Sailor Mercury.

"Usagi! Mercury is over here!" No answer.

Tuxedo Kamen felt for a pulse. He could make out the barest beat. She was alive.

"Usagi, Mercury is alive. She needs help." He said as he put her arm down softly. Still no sound.

"Usagi?" He questioned quietly. Why couldn't he hear her crying anymore?

As he crawled back to her, he touched her back lightly. She had stopped rocking. "Usako?"

Glancing at her face, Usagi set completely still with the utmost look of shock on her face. Her eyes almost seemed dead; there was no light at all in them.

Going to grab her hands, Tuxedo Kamen noticed they were lightly place on Mars's forehead. Lifting them up, he felt the fire senshi's forehead but came up empty. Wanting to take a closer look, he leaned down and gently blew some of the mist away.

As the mist floated away, the image of Mars's face came into the dull light. Tuxedo Kamen leaned down further then pulled back as he gasped in shock.

Where Usagi's hands had stilled; where his eyes had just landed, was the empty hollow where the Scout crystal of Mars used to appear on Mars's tiara.


	3. Chapter 3

**A few things to note:  
One... If things aren't explained in the story, but I've mentioned them repeatedly, than chances are they're gonna be explained in later chapters.  
This is going to be a long story, and I'm not giving everything away in the first few chapters. You'll just have to bear with me lol.  
**

**Two...**** I just want to make clear that I have no idea where in the timeline I will set this. It's kind of 'go with the flow'. They all know their identities, and they've battled Beryl, and Alan/Ann. **  
**As for ages:**  
**Mamoru = 24**  
**Usagi and Inners = 21**

**Thanks for reading, and any comments will be appreciated :)  
**

* * *

Tuxedo Kamen pulled his hand back from Mars's forehead as quickly as if it was burnt. He was at a loss for words. 'What does this mean?' Since he wasn't exactly a sailor senshi, he had no idea what the crystals were for. There were times he figured they were just accessories, but seeing as how both Sailor Moon and Jupiter made use of them, he had taken that thought back quickly. Now, he was left back at square one. He had no idea.

He glanced up at Sailor Moon. She was staring down at Mars's face as almost a mother stares at her newborn. 'Did she not know they're alive?' He wondered.

Tuxedo Kamen put a hand on her shoulder, "Sailor Moon. They are alive; both Mercury and Mars. I don't know where the others are, but we have to move. Danger is still here, or else the fog would have lifted." He waited for a response. None came.

"Alright. I'm grabbing you, and we're leaving. We'll have to come back when you've gained some strength back. I'll come back for the girls." He muttered as he stood up and moved to pick Sailor Moon up.

It was at this time that Sailor Moon woke up from her trance-like state.

"No." she mumbled quietly.

Tuxedo Kamen stopped his actions and raced to her front, "Usagi? Was that you?" His hands clasped the sides of her head gently as he stared into the slightly coloured blue eyes of the woman.

"We're not leaving. I cannot leave them here. They're lost, and, if I leave, they won't find their way back."

Tuxedo Kamen glanced back down to Mars then up to the fog. He couldn't chance staying. Something was just not sitting right in his gut. Focusing back on Sailor Moon, he sighed. "We have to leave. This is still a battle zone. Cops and officials will be coming soon, and we can't explain anything. We need to take cover back at my building. C'mon."

He stood back up and moved to pick her up again, but he was met with trouble as she began shaking out of his grasp. "No. I'm not leaving them. They need me." She said loudly.

Tuxedo Kamen took her words as hysterics and continued to wrap his hands underneath her arms. He had no choice. She must be moved.

Sailor Moon kept her gaze on Mars's tiara, but when she felt herself being picked up, she screamed, "NOOOOOO!"

Sailor Moon's locket glowed fiercely in reaction to her screams. As Tuxedo Kamen fell back, the locket's glow continued to pulse. The pulse reverberated off the fog. Slowly, it began to dissipate.

As the last few wisps blew away, Tuxedo Kamen stared around him in shock. Trees were burnt down, many buildings were crumbling, and the once rushed schedule of early morning only brought silence. Tokyo was ruined. He stumbled around in awe of the destruction. Walking through the park, he noted all of the birds and small animals were gone. In the pond lay the dead body of a swan.

As he walked down to the water's edge, the sun rose over the buildings and flashed its rays upon the battlefield. A flash of yellow caught his attentions. 'Hair.' He thought dramatically. He raced to the bush that was just covering all but the small strands of hair. Pushing the wiry branches apart, he noticed the red bow dangling loosely from her hair. 'Oh Gods, it's Venus.'

Ripping the branches out as quickly as he could, Tuxedo Kamen was able to free her head from the entanglement. The empty hollow on her tiara echoed back the same feelings that the one from Mars had given him. 'What did this to you?' He snapped out of his stare and placed his hand on her neck. Confirmed that she too was alive, he tried to pull her out onto the pathway, but something was holding her lower half down.

Swearing, he raced around the large bush. Green boots poked out from the other end. 'Jupiter.'

He did the same procedure for Sailor Jupiter, confirming she was alive, before gently pulling her out of the branches. Her bruised and bloodied face made him shiver, but he had to keep it together. Making sure both girls were laid safely down just off the pathway, he raced back to Sailor Moon.

"I found Jupiter and Venus." He gasped out tiredly.

Sailor Moon glanced up quickly; a question in her eyes.

Tuxedo Kamen looked down. "They're just like Mars and Mercury."

More sobbing broke out from the blonde. It broke his heart. Her guardians; her friends, were gone, and she had no idea what happened to them. She was just as lost as they were.

Realising that it was pointless to try and get her to move, Tuxedo Kamen went back and began moving Venus and Jupiter to his apartment.

* * *

When Mercury was finally moved, Tuxedo Kamen came back for Mars. Sailor Moon had finished crying, but was hugging her knees tightly. He walked up slowly. "Usagi. We have to move. The fire crews have almost made it to the park. We need to leave."

Sailor Moon mumbled quietly, but Tuxedo Kamen couldn't make out the words since her head was tucked down.

"Usagi? What did you say?"

She mumbled again.

Moving in closer to hear better, he made out her mumbling. "I killed them. I killed them. I killed them."

"No, you didn't!" he shouted suddenly.

Sailor Moon stopped and looked up at him.

"Damnit Usagi, They're alive. I've told you how many times? You sulking here is not going to help them get any better. Mercury, Jupiter, and Venus are all at my apartment. We need to get Mars there too before we take any more actions." He said as he stared down at her face that was quickly becoming angry.

"No, they're not. Ami, Makato, Rei, and Minako are alive, but Mercury, Jupiter, Mars, and Venus are gone."

Tuxedo Kamen stared back quizzically, "What do you mean?"

Sailor Moon rose slowly. Taking a deep breath she stared around her at the destruction that was just now settling into her mind. "The scouts are gone. Their crystals… our crystals on our tiaras hold the scout power."

Tuxedo Kamen looked at her tiara, "But, I thought that was what your henshin wands were for."

Sailor Moon shook her head slowly. "The wands acted as a kind of guide to retrieving the scout crystals. They connected to the scout crystals and allowed us to connect to their energy. It was the scout crystals that truly allowed us to change."

"Well, why are they still in scout form if their scout essence is gone?" He said hopefully.

A shake of her head indicated Sailor Moon understanding his train of thought, "No. The essence of the scout is gone. That crystal brought to each of them the ability to fight, to retrieve their magics, to understand the good powers they hold dear. When that power left, or was taken, or however it happened..." Sailor Moon trailed off as she glanced down at Mars.

Tuxedo Kamen put a hand on her shoulder, and she came back.

"When the crystals left, the scout's souls did as well. Who they are now are just their regular, human selves, and I have no idea where my scouts went."

"I do."

Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon glanced at the figure standing in the trees to their left. "Well, well, well. It looks like you two have a bit of a problem. Making all of this mess, and none of your friends decide to stick around and help. Tsk tsk on your friend choice."

Sailor Moon's eyes blazed as she turned and jumped to where the man was. Throwing a punch, she swayed as she missed. The figure had dropped from the branch lightly and looked up at her smiling, "That was quite rude."

Jumping down from the tree, Sailor Moon felt her charge on the tiara powering up. "I'll show you rude." She grabbed onto her tiara, and gently pulled it out until she could feel the heat coursing through her body.

"Moon Tiara Action" she shouted as she whipped the disc out of her hand.

The figure jumped up and out of the way. As he came back down, he landed a kick on Sailor Moon, pushing her into a tree. A snarl ripped from the man's throat as he ran to her and grabbed her lapels in both hands, "Try and use your little magic on me, bitch. Your friends did, and I took care of them."

Sailor Moon stared into the almost black eyes of the man holding her. There was no emotion in those eyes. Nothing but darkness; it flowed out and permeated her skin. She trembled.

"Yes," the man slowly whispered, "Fear me as you should. I took down 4 of the greatest warriors in the universe, yet I have no scratches on me. They couldn't overcome me, and you won't overcome me." Sailor Moon felt tears prick her eyes. "I am the darkness. I am the divider. You cannot fight me."

Tuxedo Kamen had had enough. He leapt towards the figure with his cane swinging downward. The man stayed where he was, but grabbed Tuxedo Kamen's cane before it connected. Turning around, he took the momentum from Tuxedo Kamen and tossed him over his shoulder. Tuxedo Kamen felt the air momentarily leave him, but before he could get up, the man was pushing him back down.

"Well it certainly has been awhile, hasn't it Mamoru?"

Tuxedo Kamen stared up at the man in shock.

"Yes, yes, I know, no introductions were made, but, hey, I do a lot of things out of order." The man smiled down.

Tuxedo Kamen tried to raise his leg to kick him off, but the man sat down on him, rendering him unable to move.

"Don't try it. It's useless. I didn't come here to kill you, yet. I must admit I'm a little tired from all the playing I've done. I just came to tell you that we'll be meeting up real soon. Don't think for one second I've forgotten what you did to my queen." Anger began to take over the man's features again, "You stole her from me because you're a little coward. The great Prince Endymion resorted to tricks and lies to obtain what he wants. What a man."

Tuxedo Kamen struggled under the weight of the man. 'Where was Usagi? Who the hell was this man talking about?'

The sounds of sirens echoed nearby. The man glanced up and frowned. "Fine. We will end this here." He disappeared but reappeared back on the same tree branch.

Tuxedo Kamen rose and ran to Sailor Moon who was leaning on the tree that she was trapped against earlier. Hugging her shoulder, he looked back to the man.

"Hug her while you can Endymion. She'll probably be the last woman you ever touch. When my deeds are done, the name Pyrite will ring in infamy as the man who finished the glorious destruction of the Silver Alliance. See you soon." The man faded out as his laughter hovered in their ears.

Both soldiers had no idea what to make of it.

As Tuxedo Kamen glanced down to Sailor Moon, he heard a rustle and glanced over her shoulder. The sound of footsteps and shouting could be heard coming into the park. Sailor Moon turned around as well and looked. "We need to get out of here." She stated before bending down to pick Mars up.

Tuxedo Kamen pulled her back, "I'll do that. Just get to my apartment. The others are there."

Sailor Moon nodded before jumping up and over the trees.

* * *

The steady sound of breathing soothed Usagi as she sat on the floor stroking Minako's hair. It had taken awhile for her to finally come out of her stupor, but she had managed. Sitting in Mamoru's apartment was oddly strange considering she was always happy while there, but not today.

The afternoon sun was setting. The first day after the battle was quickly coming to an end. Usagi had sat on Mamoru's balcony watching the emergency crews clear roads and check buildings. In the daylight, it didn't seem so harsh as she thought it would be. Many houses were well intact, and would probably have families back in them by tomorrow. Of course, the downtown core was destroyed. Just the size of the youma alone had done enough damage to the streets and buildings. It would take quite some time before they fixed that.

Usagi sighed as she tucked Minako's hair under her arms and got up to make dinner. She had personally bathed all of the girls; not liking having to see their bloody and torn bodies. Having grabbed most of her clothes from her apartment, she dressed them all in comfortable pyjamas; not knowing when they would wake up. She felt it was the most she could do at this time. Until they found out who this 'Pyrite' guy was, and where the scouts went, she couldn't do much. Mamoru had just left to the Tokyo University. He had been thinking in his apartment for hours when something suddenly hit him, and he declared he needed to do some research. She hoped he would be back soon. Those last words that Pyrite had said to him scared her. He was coming back.

As Usagi raided the fridge for ingredients to anything, she heard a shrill beep coming from the bathroom. Running in, she picked up her jeans which were emitting the noise. Out from her pocket came her communicator with its flashing red incoming signal. Usagi's eyes widened and pressed the button. Luna's face took over the screen.

"Oh thank heavens, Usagi. I have been out of my mind trying to locate you. The power was cut out for so long, and we tried to find you and the scouts but no one was answering. Did you destroy the youma? Are you with the other girls? Are you okay? Where are you?" Luna's worried eyes were racing across the screen as she tried to see behind Usagi. Usagi was just trying to keep up with all of the questions.

"Luna, stop." She sighed loudly. Luna's voice stopped mid-question, and she waited patiently for her ward to speak. "I'm at Mamoru's apartment. It was the closest thing to the scene." She noticed Luna nod at the information, but she continued anyways, "I'm with the other girls, and I'm fine, but…" she trailed off, unsure how to relay the information to her cat.

"Usagi… but what?"

Usagi gulped. "The girls aren't fine."

Luna's eyes widened at the news, "What is wrong with them? Have they been to a hospital?"

"No. You know we can't go to a hospital. They'll get too many weird results. I just… I can't say it again. I'll just show you." Usagi said as she walked into the living room to the closest couch. On it laid Makato. Usagi aimed the communicator's camera towards Makato's face and waited for the cat to say something.

There was silence for quite awhile, and when she looked at the screen to see what happened, no one was there.

"Luna? Are you there?"

Not getting any answer, Usagi pressed the 'off' button and continued making dinner.

* * *

At 8 o'clock, fate found Usagi locking Mamoru's door with a basket in hand and walking towards the university. Mamoru had promised to try and make it home for dinner, but Usagi couldn't blame him for being late. New enemy equalled new timetable.

The power was back on in downtown Tokyo which brought some brave people back with it. Emergency crews were still out in full force cleaning up, and Usagi sighed at what the officials were going to blame this incident for. 'Gas leak is possible' she thought, 'or maybe a meteor. They can cause heap loads of trouble in the movies. I think the public would even take angry, cheated, housewife for an answer. Nothing could properly explain this mess.'

Walking up the steps of the library, Usagi sighed in relief when she noticed the lit up building. The darkness was creeping her out, and she had the forever feeling that something was watching her. Without the scouts, she was more scared than ever. With some quick hops, she bound up the stairs and into the building. It was empty.

"Mamoru?" she whispered quietly, but realised there was no one to interrupt in the library.

"Mamoru" She shouted. The size of the library made it feel like a maze. This was a building Usagi had never been in before. Gripping the basket handle, she made her way inwards.

She continued calling out for him, but stopped when she heard papers rustle. Heading towards the computer section, she looked up to see the light flickering off and on. Standing underneath its haze, Usagi saw the scruff of Mamoru's black hair behind one of the computer screens.

"Mamoru! Hey. I was calling for you." She chirped as she walked down the aisles to his row. He didn't answer. As she walked up and put her hand to his head to wake him, she felt the cold presence behind her.

"Don't bother."

Usagi dropped the basket and whirled around. All she saw was black smoke twirling in the air behind her. "Pyrite. What did you do to him?"

The black smoke rose towards the ceiling. "I told you I had some issues to work out. It just happened to be sooner rather than later."

Usagi grimaced and turned back to Mamoru. Shaking him wildly, she screamed his name until she was hoarse.

The mist floated behind Mamoru. "Don't be afraid. He's resting now. He feels no pain… well, actually, he feels nothing." The mist stopped speaking as it watched the blonde crumple and lay her head on his lap while she wept.

"Ahhh, so you're the one that loves him. I have to say, I was kind of excited to see you, but, now that I've met you, it's not exciting at all. I had hopes that the woman that this man left us for was worth something, but I've seen better in sewers."

Usagi gave him no concern. She continued to feel her heart bleed.

"Be glad kitten, it was supposed to be you in your friends places, but I've studied the past. I figured the weakest link would do quite nicely. What's a leader if they have nothing to lead, am I right? But, it's all done now. I've had my small, fun show. It's time I get started with the real thing. Soon, you won't even want to sleep for fear of the darkness coming to reach you. I'll make sure it does. The divide will reach all." The mist whispered the final sentence as it slowly dissipated.

Usagi stayed crippled on the floor as she fought to gain control of her emotions. 'Too much' she thought, 'It's just too much pain. I lose my friends, and now I lost Mamoru. I can't continue like this.' Usagi sucked in a breath deeply, 'I **won't** continue like this. Pyrite can think he's won, but I will break him to pieces before I let him.'

Usagi glanced up at the empty room. Wiping her cheeks with the palms of her hands, she looked up to Mamoru and sighed, "Don't worry my love.". She pushed Mamoru's chair back until she could lean him back in it and see his face. 'He looks like he always does when he sleeps.' She noted with a soft, sad smile. 'He's just sleeping for now. I'll wake him later.' Usagi brushed his bangs back, and kissed his forehead. "I will find you again, Mamoru. I've done it once, and I'll do it again. No power on this earth or another will stop me."

Steeled by her confession, Usagi stood up. As she bent down to gather her basket, she noticed the blinking screen of the computer. Moving the mouse to remove the screen saver, a web browser was open which revealed a research file spewing out information. 'This is what he was researching.' She stated. Knowing she would just have to finish it for him, Usagi grabbed a pencil and moved the screen up to the top in order to see the title.

'_The Four Heavenly Kings: Legend of the Shittenou'_


	4. Chapter 4

**Warning: the following chapter deals with a lot of speaking and very little action. I had to get this out of the way sometime.**

**R&R please!**

* * *

"911. What is your emergency?"

"My boyfriend is unconscious and won't wake up."

"Okay ma'am. Where are you?"

"He's at the Tokyo University Library."

"Okay. Paramedics are now on their way to the library. In the meantime, I'm going to need you to do several things for me."

"I can't. I had to leave."

"I'm sorry?"

"I had to leave the library for a family emergency, but don't worry. He doesn't have any allergies, he's breathing, and I laid him down in the recovery position and all that."

"We really need you to g-"

"I can't. I'm already gone. Please, just… just help him." Usagi finished and snapped the cell phone shut.

Her mind was spinning at 100 miles an hour. She felt like an ass for leaving Mamoru at the library, but she was done doing nothing. She had sat back last night and now her 4 best friends basically lost their souls and were lying unconscious in her boyfriend's apartment. Usagi felt a sob coming on. 'Crying is so not going to help right now' she thought bravely as she turned the corner back to Mamoru's apartment.

Snapping out of the elevator before it had even fully opened, Usagi paged Luna on her communicator. "Luna?"

"Usagi."

Usagi let out a breath when she heard Luna answer, and pulled her set of keys with Mamoru's spare out of her pocket. "Luna, where have you been? Nevermind. We have a BIG problem. I need to see you now. Ah damnit."

Luna tensed up at the sudden expletive, "Are you okay? What happened?"

Usagi picked up her keys. "I just dropped my keys. I'm walking into Mamoru's now. Where are you?"

Luna heard the sound of a door opening. "We're actually..." Luna paused as she saw her charge walk through Mamoru's door. "...right here."

Upon seeing Luna sitting beside Ami, Usagi felt the tears start to prick her eyes again. "He-he's gone, Luna."

The black cat jumped off the cot and walked to the blonde who was slowly hunching over the back of the chair. "Usagi, I have a feeling about what you're going to say, and, as much as you want to grieve, we cannot. Time is of the essence. Now, Artemis and I-"

Usagi's sobs broke out and interrupted the speech. Luna looked around in confusion. There really wasn't any time to waste. A flash in the corner of her eye showed Artemis walking into the room. Luna looked at him in desperation, and the white feline nodded.

"Usagi. Mamoru is not gone. He loves you too much to leave you. He's just..." Artemis paused as he thought of a nice way to put things, "...he's just waiting for you. Although we don't know where that is, don't you think it would be unwise to leave him wherever he is waiting?"

The sounds of sobs stifling made both cats nod and sit down. Usagi used the hem of her shirt and dried the tears that had fallen down her cheeks. Upon opening her eyes, she saw the cats on the floor staring up at her with saddened eyes. Just knowing they were here for her gave her the extra push needed to start moving again. "Okay... I'm... I'm okay."

* * *

"So, after Pyrite left, I saw this website that he had left open on the screen. I wrote out as much as I could."

Usagi handed the half-filled out paper to Artemis. He glanced at the contents and pushed it to Luna. "This confirms what we had."

Luna nodded and stared at Usagi. "Usagi. When you showed us that picture of Mars's tiara, we immediately knew we had seen this before. It was just a matter of remembering where we had seen the information. Just over an hour ago, Artemis found the database that held the records of battles during the Silver Alliance. One battle in particular was what we were looking for."

Usagi stared blankly at Luna. "I don't know of any other battles other than the one on the moon."

Artemis coughed, "Well, we didn't feel it necessary to divulge extra information that was irrelevant at times. We know how you um... hate extra studying."

At his comment, Usagi slightly blushed. Old habits die hard, but memories died even harder. Luna glanced at her partner before finishing her lecture. "Like I was saying, one battle that raged on during the war of the Silver Alliance bore the same information about the attacks that happened to the girls."

Usagi straightened. 'This has happened before!' "Great then. What can we do? How did they defeat it back then?"

The cats looked at one another with a look that Usagi knew meant nothing good. "They didn't defeat it, did they?"

Artemis shook his head. "No. It was a planet that was just past Pluto. Nahla was made up of rather peaceful individuals. They prided themselves with their quick speed, much like the Uranians, but the thing that set them apart was their metal making. They were the planet that most of the Alliance was buying weapons from. Despite that, the planet of Nahla was one of peace, and there were hopes of it soon joining the Alliance. Just before Beryl and the Negaverse attacked the moon, a quick battle broke out on Nahla. In it, every Nahlite suddenly lost consciousness. It only took a matter of weeks, before the whole planet was silent."

"Silent? You mean the whole planet just went to sleep and died off?"

"Not exactly. Here's where it gets tricky. Descriptions in the Moon Battle Chronicles depict warriors fighting alongside the Negaverse. These warriors were said to move with a speed unrivaled by anyone, and their blades cut down even the mightiest of opponents."

Usagi stared. "The Nahlites woke up and started fighting for evil?"

Luna shook her head dramatically, "The warriors that fought were the Nahlites, but they were not at the same time. You see" Luna jumped in quickly, already seeing the question mark in Usagi's eyes, "whatever happened on Nahla caused the people there to... divide themselves into two. It was literally a division between good and evil. The good aspects of every citizen stayed in the unconscious body while the evil and hatred was separated and given a new form. These new entities were made up of pure hatred. They are the evilness of every person personified as their human host."

"That doesn't make sense Luna." Usagi shook her head, "if that is what happened, than why am I not seeing the evil twins of the scouts and Mamoru?"

"Simply because they are good incarnate. You, as scouts, already have a natural split within you. Your human soul and your scout soul. Your human soul was not given very long for it to form; therefore, it has very little power. Your scout soul on the other hand has been steadily growing. When Pyrite came and did whatever he did to try and split you guys, the split between your two souls happened because that was all there was to split... What is your question?"

Usagi slightly smiled at Luna already knowing how confused she was. "Well, you told us that when we accepted the wands upon first being scouts, that we were becoming the scouts. Doesn't that kind of mean we already are just scouts? That we chose to leave behind the human soul?"

Artemis chuckled lightly, but a look from Luna made him stiffen, "Sorry. I just find it funny that she can remember a sentence from years prior, but she forgets to tie her shoes."

The sound of Luna's paw smacking Artemis's head lightly echoed around the dim apartment. Usagi took this time to walk and switch on the lights. It was growing too late, and she hated the glare of emergency lights bathing the room. After she checked on each girl, she sat on the living room floor and waited for the cats to come in.

"So, what were we last saying?" Usagi whispered.

Artemis went to chuckle again, but the look on Luna's face quickly made him swallow the laugh. "You thought that you purely had a scout soul."

Usagi nodded, "Right."

Luna took back her lecture role, "No. You don't. When you chose to become a scout, you basically started the training. Becoming a true sailor scout takes years of practice. In the olden days, sailor scout status was something that was very rarely given to people. Time, skill, and effort were the factors that determined whether one succeeded. Of course, the fact that the fates must choose you as the scout's host was also a valid reason. But, the point to this is that the girls and Mamoru have lost their incarnate souls. For example, Ami is lying on the cot behind you, but Sailor Mercury is not. Sailor Mercury was split."

A giant 'O' formed on Usagi's face. "And I take it that Endymion left Mamoru?"

Both cats nodded.

Usagi glanced around at the sleeping girls, "Soooo...where did they go if they're not fighting for team evil?"

"We haven't exactly determined that at the moment. We have suspicions, and we know they're at least on Earth, but we don't have a clear way of confirming them...at least, not a way that would let us know before time is up."

Usagi stiffened, "What do you mean 'before time is up'?"

"Well, this Pyrite fellow has been up to this gig for quite some time although he hasn't always gone by this name. He used to be known as 'The Great Divide", and he was the one that decimated Nahla."

Usagi blanched. 'Our new enemy has already destroyed planets, and now he's working on this one?

Luna hurried to keep from freaking out the woman, "b-but we still have time to act. It took him weeks to finish his crime back then, so I can imagine it will take him roughly the same time since he's been in hiding for so long."

Usagi kept getting paler, "So, you're telling me I have roughly a month before Earth is gone, and there's nothing I can do about it? Is that the moral of the story here?"

Artemis ran from the room when this question was asked. Usagi watched him leave then looked to Luna for an answer. Luna stared at the ground.

"Well, when we were looking in the Chronicles, we saw mention of some warriors that were well known for both their skill and bravery. These warriors used to reside here on Earth, but they've been gone for quite some time now. So long, in fact, that they have been dubbed legends in many cultures; ours including."

"Legends? Legends of warriors... Oh my gosh! Mamoru!" Usagi jumped up and grabbed the paper she had dropped closer to the door. "These guys! The Four Heavenly Kings." Usagi pointedly happily at the title and short paragraph she had jotted down. "The article Mamoru had open made reference to the legend of the Shittenou."

Luna nodded. "Yes. These are the warriors that I meant."

Usagi threw the paper in the air and let out a celebratory cheer. "Well who are they, and where can I find them, Luna because I have a date with a soon-to-be-dead demon."

Luna blanked at the question. 'How do I put this in words she won't scream at?' Luckily for her, Artemis ran in at that moment with a paper in his mouth and dropped it in front of the women.

"They're here." He said while pointing to a giant, white section on a map.

Usagi stared hard at the map, but shrugged her shoulders. "What is that? Did they forget to colour that part in?"

"Oh dear heavens child." Luna quipped before turning the map to face Usagi. "That is the North Pole. Where snow lives." She put in childish terms hoping it would work. Clearly it did when Usagi's mouth formed another 'O'.

"Ohhhh. Well. Okay. Give me the coordinates, and I'll be on my way to go awaken these warrior king guys."

Luna looked to Artemis nervously. Artemis spoke up, "Before we let you know where exactly you're going... we have to tell you something."

Usagi looked expectantly at each of them.

"These... Shittenou have had more of an impact than you know. Back in the peaceful days, they used to be Endymion's generals and loyal friends."

"Ohh, maybe I knew them in my past life! After all, Endymion and I were quite close."

Again the cats stared at each other almost as if they were mentally daring the other to speak the words. Once again, Artemis lost. "Yes, you did actually know them back then, but the thing is, Usagi... you've met them in this life too."

Usagi's mouth dropped, "Are you freaking kidding me? I've met them, and we're just sitting here speaking fairy tales? Let's go re-meet them."

"I doubt you'll wish you didn't say that when you meet them."

Usagi glanced at Luna out of the side of her eyes, "Why do you say that?"

Luna cleared her throat. "Well... It happens that... You see there was..."

"It's Beryl's former generals."

Once again, Artemis found himself being the center of attention due to his outbursts.

"Pardon you?"

Artemis glanced down. "Beryl's former generals are the legendary Shittenou." He mumbled as quietly as he could get away with.

Usagi stared at the white feline for what felt like an hour. After a few minutes, her eyes opened wide and she pulled in a large breath.

"You have got to be kidding me."

* * *

"So, you will only be able to transport to the areas that you were at during your battle with Beryl. Any area that you have been to and remember is where you can transport."

"And you can't come with me why?"

"We still need to concentrate on just where and how to locate the scout's essences."

Usagi slowly nodded, "Okay... and how am I supposed to find the shittenou?"

Artemis spoke up, "As magical beings, like the scouts, the generals you fought years ago were not the generals that lived a millennium ago. Their essences were locked away. Luna and I did some research, and we believe that Beryl had their essences located and locked away somewhere in her hideout. You'll be able to sense them when you're near them."

"Okay." Usagi said as she stood up. "I'll find them, bring them here, and we'll get our girls back. No problem to that. I'm going to get this going."

The cats looked at each other. "Usagi," Luna spoke while walking up and sitting on her feet, "although this seems daunting, we will get through this. No need to worry."

Usagi stared down, but didn't meet the eyes of her mentor, "I don't have room for worry anymore Luna. I'm just running on faith."

"Okay, Usagi."

"I'll be back soon guys." She said softly and walked through the door.

Artemis walked up to Luna and sat down. He could feel the worry dripping off of her like sweat. Who could blame her? This felt like it had the possibility of being the biggest battle in the scout's history, but, if it was any pattern to the previous battles, Usagi would pull through. It had taken awhile to get the complete faith in her that he had now, but she was still surprising her, even now.

Artemis chuckled.

"Why did she leave through the door? Teleporting takes less time."

* * *

The steady sounds of beeps and pages echoing over the intercom greeted the blonde as she quickly walked into the hospital. Glancing nervously around to assess just who was watching her, she smiled at the front desk nurse and continued on in her quest. Her sneakers scuffed on the occasional step, but, other than that, she kept silent.

As she rounded the corner heading for the elevators, two doctors and a nurse walked towards her, taking up much of the hallway. Usagi squeezed into the wall as much as she could while attempting to hold her breath. Both doctors glanced at her, but continued their discussion past the hall that she was in.

Usagi sighed and continued.

On the fourth floor of the Juuban Medical Centre, Usagi stepped off the elevator and glanced around for direction. On the wall directly in front of her, the numbers 401-425 with an arrow pointed left, and the numbers 426-449 pointed right. Usagi turned right.

Stopping at room 438, Usagi glanced down the empty corridor, took a deep breath, and pushed into the room.

There laid Mamoru.

Usagi felt her breath leave as she spotted him on the bed. Quickly de-transforming from her nurse's outfit and locking the door, she ran to his side. 'His fingers are cold' she noted sadly, and held one in her hands in a weak attempt to warm him.

She swallowed a large gulp as she felt herself getting close to crying. 'I can't right now. I can't right now. I can't right now.' She chanted. She had an assignment to do; an assignment that would wake him up... or end the world. 'No, don't think like that idiot' she thought angrily. Usagi cleared her throat and smiled down at the unaware, sleeping face.

"Hi."

No answer. 'Of course there wouldn't be an answer. Life's not a movie where he miraculously wakes up at the sound of your voice, Usagi'. Usagi mentally kicked her smart-ass conscience and started again.

"Hey, I uh... I just wanted you to know that I'm leaving tonight for the North Pole. Luna and Artemis told me about how you used to have these general guys, who by the way are Beryl's former head guys. Apparently, they were kind of like the equivalent of the scouts to me, and the only way to wake you up is to wake the scouts up... and the only way to wake the scouts up in time is to wake up these general guys. I know... sounds complicated, don't think I didn't tell them that, but they assure me it's the only way." Her face watched his nose as it slowly grew bigger with each inhale then smaller as he exhaled.

"I know you'd get upset... probably pissed if you found out what I'm doing by myself. I swear I would have brought people with me if I had to do this again, but... fate happened to leave me to do this task." She squeezed his hand. "I'm going to be back as soon as I can. Once this is over, I swear my face will be the first thing you see."

Usagi let go of his hand and hovered her face over his, "Mamoru. I love you. I'm sorry I wasn't there to stop this when it happened, but so help me Goddess I will be there to end it. Just wait for me, okay? Just relax and wait for me." She kissed his still lips. Looking back at his eyes for any hint of movement, she kicked her conscience again. 'Thanks movies for always thinking a kiss is everything.'

Standing back, Usagi brought out her transformation pen. Throwing it in the air, she pictured the snow suit she had worn years ago on the slopes with Rei. The powers surrounded her and she felt the weight of the heavy snowsuit encasing her petite body.

One last smile from her sad face was sent to Mamoru, "I will see you again."

Standing straight and concentrating hard on her sailor powers, Usagi felt the heat of the crescent moon glow on her forehead. When it surged through her whole body, she closed her eyes and pictured the vast cavern of Beryl's old headquarters. "Sailor teleport!" She murmured, and, in a flash, was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey there, back again.  
Sorry, sorry, sorry for the super long wait. Midterms and essays crept up on me in the way that you tend to ignore them until they're glaring at you behind your back.  
I just want to say that over the weekend I downloaded Whisper of the Heart directed by Hayao Miyazaki. For those awesome people that know who he is and have seen some of his unimaginably great works please watch that movie if you already haven't. I'm just a little bit obsessed with it right now. But I digress...  
Back to the story... HERE COME THE GENERALS!**

**

* * *

**

"Holy freaking crap it is cold."

The echo of Usagi's obvious statement bounced around the cold and dark room. Not a ray of light was penetrating any of the walls. She was cut-off now just as she had been when she came there before...except this time it was pitch black too. Deciding not being able to see was her top priority, Usagi opened the bag that was strapped to her back and produced a compact flashlight. Fumbling for an awkward moment, light suddenly blared in the room. Her shoulders relaxed slightly upon knowing she could now see what was around her.

Usagi swung her head and the flashlight around to take in the giant cavern that she had appeared in. It had been years since she had been here; not that she was counting. How could she? This was the place that saw the demise of her scouts, her boyfriend, and almost the Earth itself. Now she was back because of another demise to her scouts, her boyfriend, and possibly the Earth...again.

Usagi took a deep breath. She was past that now. It was just another hurdle; a big, ugly, scarier-than-death hurdle that she had managed to overcome. "That's right," she whispered more to herself than the cavern, "I kicked your ass once, and in a few weeks my foot will have a reunion with said ass once more."

The drip of water somewhere in the dark recesses was the only response. Sensing a shiver creeping up, Usagi decided it was enough talk, and she needed to start moving around.

Shining light across the whole cavern, Usagi located an archway that led to another room. 'Good as any place to start' she thought while shrugging her shoulders.

The first feature she noted was the throne. It sat alone on a pedestal which barely came off the ground. Usagi crept closer. Once again, dark thoughts entered her mind of her old battle. She could have sworn she heard the faint echo of Beryl's laughter radiating from the darkness. 'She's gone. I destroyed her. She's gone. I destroyed her.' She chanted.

Usagi moved her gaze from the throne and took in the throne room. "Now if I was something that Beryl wanted locked up, where would I be?" Her question had her checking everywhere, but it was impossible to know. She never knew of Beryl to hide anything.

Usagi closed her eyes. If Beryl had hidden it, there was no sense in looking. Usagi knew very little about this place, and finding a hiding spot was not likely to happen. She would have to feel her way to them. The immediate sense of feeling closed in crushed upon her. Her heart was beating quickly. Faint traces of evil were pushing at her focus; evil still lingering after Beryl had long gone.

Taking a deep breath, Usagi focused on the men she was supposed to find. They were here somewhere. The four men that would help find her scouts and save the world. Her mind briefly focused on the girls still lying in Mamoru's apartment. Although she couldn't sense them, she could remember what it felt like to sense them. 7 years constantly battling with her best friends had engraved them into her mind. A flicker of something broke her concentration.

Usagi focused on the faint beat that pulsed to her right. It was a light feeling beat; almost similar to her scouts but deeper; more masculine. Opening her eyes, Usagi flicked the flashlight towards the pulse. A smaller archway grew out of the shadows. Usagi walked to it, but didn't stare around; instead, she stared down. It was a staircase. Taking a gulp, she put one foot after the other.

The staircase took her quite awhile to walk down. As Usagi reached the bottom, she could feel sweat tickling her armpits and feet. Knowing her snow suit had taken her as far as she could bear to wear it, and having the feeling she was closing in, Usagi decided it was time to power up.

"Moon Eternal Power!"

Bright lights and feathers danced around the basement for several moments before fluttering away into the dark. Left behind was Eternal Sailor Moon.

The moon power she felt coursing through her body immediately put her at ease. It also strengthened the tug she felt pulling her heart into the darkness in front of her.

The click of her high heels, and the light from the flash light bounced around the room, but the click stopped as Sailor Moon did.

In front of her was a small pedestal table made out of glass. The light shown on it, bouncing the reflections in random angles, but what held onto the light were the 4 small stones nestled together in the middle.

Sailor Moon walked up curiously.

She could feel the tug pulsing from the rocks, and she picked them up still unsure about just what she was staring at. Each rock glittered faintly in varieties of green except for one which stood out as pale lavender. Turning them over in her hands, Sailor Moon looked for any other markings, but the only thing noted was that they felt warm to the touch.

'This has to be what Luna was talking about.' She thought dramatically while remembering Luna's words about the Generals being in a caged form.

Setting the rocks back on the pedestal, Sailor Moon pulled out her moon wand.

Pointing the crystal covered rod at the rocks, she muttered the healing words.

"Moon Healing Escalation"

The silver and pink dust floated onto the rocks coating them. As Sailor Moon watched, the dust slowly vanished as it was absorbed into the stones. When the last fleck vanished from sight, the rocks glowed brightly and began to vibrate.

Sailor Moon stepped back as the light expanded to encompass the whole room, and she shielded her eyes. As the shaking began to subside, sudden shouts emanating in the room made her throw her eyes open.

Lying face up with the small flat of the dias poking into his back was a man with long, brown hair. Groaning loudly at the awkward and painful position he was in, the man rolled sideways and yelled again as he crashed to the floor and on top of two other men.

"Get the fuck off me dummy" Growled a man with long, silver looking hair while he shoved the fallen man off of his chest.

A shout from where the brown haired man had fallen indicated another person being abused, "Don't push him on me" Mumbled another, smaller man who attempted to push the brown haired man off of him. "Geez Neph, how much did you put on? You weigh a mega-ton."

"Shut-up pint size. Last I checked, it was pretty hard to gain weight inside a rock. It is possible to get dumber, like you're clearly demonstrating."

The smaller man punched the man after the rude comment, but kept silent as he refused to argue below himself. The silver-haired man kept a glare on his face as he surveyed the argument. A millennia stuck inside a rock with only 4 people to speak to had really gotten on his nerves. He stood up and dusted his shoulders. "Nephlite, even if Zoicite did happen to look some of his intelligence, which" he spoke louder, already seeing Nephlite go to make another smart-ass comment, "is extremely unlikely, he would still be kicking your dumb ass in the quiz category."

A laugh broke out from behind the men, and the three turned to see a woman surveying the scene with a smile on her face. The sudden attention towards her slipped the smile off of her face.

"Sorry to interrupt. I'm just... I'm not used to you guys being so... un-evil."

All three men stared at her blankly for several quiet, awkward minutes.

Sailor Moon stared back just as awkwardly.

The sounds of water dripping down from the ceilings echoed loudly and shook the four out of their stupor.

Immediately, the three men kneeled and stared at the ground. "Your highness."

Sailor Moon blinked repeatedly at the scene before her. "Uh, what are you doing?"

The silver-haired man's head raised up, "We bow to our princess."

An awkward laugh came out from the woman. "Haha... yeah. I'm not really... you guys don't need to... ummm this isn't the time that you think, so I'm not your princess... yet."

At this, all the shittenou raised their heads slowly and came to their feet. The brown-haired man came forward, "What exactly happened while we were gone?"

"You mean you don't know?"

Nephlite shook his head, "None of us do. The last we can remember about being in the world was the battle erupting on the moon. From then, we've been trapped in the stones."

"How exactly is it that you aren't questioning who we are? You seem to be familiar with us, yet you claim this is another lifetime, and we've been locked away." Said Zoicite.

Sailor Moon bit her lip. 'They don't know what happened to themselves' she thought nervously. 'How can I tell them what they did?' "Well, I just uh... I remember you guys from the Silver Millenium, but speaking of which... we need to get going. Lots of work to do and battles to be won."

The shittenou stared at each other. "We can't leave without Jedeite."

"Oh yeah..." said Sailor Moon. "How come he wasn't revived along with you guys? I had his stone placed with the rest of yours."

None could answer her question. Instead, Sailor Moon walked past them to the pedestal where the rocks had fallen onto. Picking up each stone, she noted that three of them no longer hummed with the warm energy from before. The last stone did. Sailor Moon showed the stones to the shittenou.

"These were where you I found you guys. All of them are now dormant except for this green one."

The shittennou each picked up a stone and analyzed it while Sailor Moon stared at Jedeite's. 'He must still be locked inside.' She thought, 'but why?'

"I'll try it again. Maybe this time it will work." Muttered Sailor Moon.

She set the stone back on the pedestal.

"Moon Healing Escalation"

The dust floated down, and, once again, the stone absorbed it, but it didn't glow.

Sailor Moon frowned. 'What is wrong with this stupid rock?' Nephlite seemed to agree with her train of thought since he stormed up to the pedestal and grabbed the rock. "What the hell do you think you're doing in there, Jedeite? Get your scrawny, lazy, foul smelling ass out of there RIGHT NOW"

The last part of Nephlite's sentence echoed in the room. Sailor Moon could hear Zoicite mumbling to Nephlite that yelling at a rock wouldn't change much, but she stopped paying attention when Nephlite chucked the rock into the darkness with a scream of frustration.

Kunzite stormed up and grabbed Nephlite by the collar, "Idiot! Over a thousand years, and you still won't drop your damn bickering with Jedeite. Stop hindering the princess and start looking for that rock."

All four of them soon fanned out in the general direction Nephlite had thrown the rock. It was quite hard to depict which rock was correct since A) it was pretty dark despite Sailor Moon's flashlight was the only source of light and B) there were rocks all over the cave bottom.

Sailor Moon stood still, and waited for the tug to pull her in the right direction. It pulled her across the room to a dark corner.

Pointing the flash light into the darkness, the light reflected back at her instantly.

'Ice?' Sailor Moon thought quizzically. 'Why would a random corner be covered in ice?'

Stepping up, she felt the wall, but her hands did not get the shivers of ice. It had the look, but not the feel. She shone her flashlight directly into the glass.

Jedeite's body stared back at her with a frozen look of fear.

"What do you mean we're leaving now? What about Jedeite?"

Sailor Moon glanced back at the corner before answering Nephlite, "I have to get you guys back to Tokyo. I'm coming straight back for Jedeite, but I need to be alone to retrieve him."

The men looked at each other, but the stern glance from Kunzite showed that there would be no arguments. "Very well."

"Everyone hold hands." Sailor Moon said as she reached out for Zoicite and Kunzite. The group became a circle, and Sailor Moon tuned in to the crystal. Calling on it more strongly than normal in order to bear the extra persons, she waited until she felt the tug pulling tightly before shouting the phrase.

"Sailor Teleport"

They landed in the living room of Mamoru's apartment. A quick glance from Sailor Moon showed that the girls were in the bedrooms. She didn't want the men seeing them just yet; too much happening.

"Luna, Artemis."

The cats ran in from down the hallway.

"Usagi, Oh I'm so glad you're back. How was it? Are you okay?" Luna questioned per usual.

Sailor Moon smiled and nodded that she was fine, but she side stepped in order to show the cats who she had brought back.

The 3 turned to see the men staring out of Mamoru's balcony door at the modern city of Tokyo in amazement. Upon hearing the small cough from Sailor Moon to get their attention, they turned around.

"Usagi, where's Jedeite?" Artemis questioned.

"Holy shit that animal spoke." Nephlite gasped.

"Amazing" stated Zoicite.

Kunzite just stared.

"Oh yeah, um this is Artemis" she pointed to the white feline, "and this is Luna." She repeated to the black cat.

"Pleasure to meet you all aga- uh, gentlemen." Luna said as she walked towards them.

Sailor Moon bit her lip at Luna's almost slip. It wasn't the time to tell them about their other selves that had been taking over Tokyo years ago; just another secret on the list. As she heard Luna go into her speech about telling an blurred version of what had happened and is happening, she remembered that she had to go back.

"Luna, I have to go back to get Jedeite. There was a complication, but I'll be back soon. Can you take care of them, and get them sorted out?"

Luna nodded, "Be safe."

Sailor Moon nodded and transported back.

* * *

She stood in front of the blockage with a puzzled look on her face. Her flashlight was hovering over the imprisoned man's horrified face. 'Beryl did this to him... probably unsuspectingly.' She thought sadly. His arms were raised as if to protect himself from her magics. 'Cowardly woman' she thought disgracefully. 'Breaking those men, and turning them into beasts for her army.' She stepped forward and stared more intently at the man.

'This must be right after he failed for the last time. Beryl had had enough of his attempts by then. I guess, if he was frozen right after the battle, this must be Jedeite's evil split half.' Her look at the uniform confirmed that nothing had changed on him since the last day she had seen him. 'I guess his stone didn't activate since he wasn't technically 'whole' yet.'

'Well' Sailor Moon pulled out her moon wand. 'Third time's the charm.'

"Moon healing escalation"

Once again, the dust floated across the block, but it didn't absorb as quickly as the rocks had. Sailor Moon could feel the echo of Beryl's curse reverberating back to her. She steeled herself even more.

The dust began to soak in, and the block began to vibrate. The echoing sound of Beryl's haunting screams echoed in her head. Remembering the evil witch for what she was, and all that she represented, the beam from her moon wand intensified. Within seconds, the block glowed brightly and began to dissolve.

When the light died down, Sailor Moon looked, but no evidence was even there that the block existed. No chips, no water, and no body.

As Sailor Moon walked around, trying to locate rock that Jedeite should be in, the sound of another rock being kicked broke her concentration.

"Who's there?" she shouted into the darkness.

The beam of her flashlight was beginning to fade, and it was difficult to breach the faraway darkness. No one answered back.

"Is anyone there?"

Again no answer, but the pinpricks on the back of her neck told Sailor Moon that she was not alone.

Tucking her wand away, Sailor Moon stood still as she waited for a hint of direction. It came soon. The quick scuffle of running feet came from her left. Something slammed into her quickly and heavily.

Her breath left her body momentarily, and she swung her head dizzily. The heavy breathing of what could only be a youma drifted in the dark. Sailor Moon got to her feet, but gripped the wall to gain her sense of direction.

"What do you want?" she said.

The running came again, but she reacted too slowly again. This time, a slash was felt across her cheek. Sailor Moon caught her cheek in defence, feeling the flowing heat that could only be blood.

"Your death" Came the reply now to her right.

Sailor Moon laughed. "Get in line. You're not the first, and you won't be the last. I have much bigger fish to fry."

"He has sent me."

Sailor Moon pondered what that meant. "Who's 'he'?"

"The one that will soon be taking over this world."

"Pyrite." She said with disdain.

"Correct. My master has sent me to ensure his victory by taking care of a few minor things, but it appears that you have come to hinder them. In order to follow through with his orders, I must destroy you."

Sailor Moon listened half-heartedly as she was busy getting a lock on where the voice was coming from. "Why would he need you to come here? Watching over an empty cavern seems like babysitting type material to me."

"It is an honour. I will ensure the Dark Moon's victory by destroying Earth's first and last hope. Despite the silence that had reined over the Earth's gods, my master felt it necessary to ensure that that silence remains for eternity."

'What the hell is she talking about?' Sailor Moon thought. She was pretty sure the youma was to her left, but she wanted to judge the distance. Her first attack could be her last in this darkness. "Well I know about being a babysitter, and trust me, you're being one. Sorry to have stolen your task, but I need it, and you're not having it back."

A growl sounded to her left just a few steps away. Perfect.

Sailor Moon swung her right leg around hoping to hit the youma in the face. The smack of her foot connecting with a body confirmed her action. Turning around and swinging her left leg now, she sought to deliver another one.

The youma grabbed her leg, used the momentum, and tossed Sailor Moon across the room. Sailor Moon smashed into the floor hard. Rolling over, she went to get up, but the youma had landed on top of her, pinning her arms at the elbow and holding them above her head.

The hot, putrid breath of the youma stung her nostrils. Her eyes began to water at the pain. Sailor Moon struggled, but the weight alone of the youma held her whole body down completely. She was stuck.

"I would love to present you to my master. I'm sure he would enjoy seeing the light fade from your eyes, just as I am about to, but time is of the essence."

"Well you sure seem to be taking your damn time!" Sailor Moon spat out. The youma had pushed her down further, and a rock under her back was pushing into her spine. She squirmed again to try and dislodge it, but all she managed to do was bring her hands closer to her head.

"Fine then" the youma gloated. Letting go of her captive's hands, she quickly brought them around Sailor Moon's neck quickly and harshly.

Sailor Moon felt the huge urge to heave as the lack of oxygen registered in her head. She grabbed at the arms, but the angle she was at didn't allow her pry them off.

The youma breathed more hot air into its captive's face. The body of this enemy will grant her eternal life with her master. Never again would she have to fear her death. As she felt the mirth bubble up inside her, she also felt the vibrations humming from her victim's throat.

"A last word?"

More vibrations ticked her hands.

The youma leaned in closer despite the darkness blocking her victim's face; she wanted to hear death claim her. Slightly releasing the intensity of her grip, the youma awaited the final words of the warrior below her.

"Speak"

"Mmm Rrrrrrr Nnnnn"

The youman lessened her grip once more, but not enough to let the victim shove her hands away. "Let's try this again, weakling. Quickly before you die."

"I... said... Moon Tiara Action"

A light emitted from underneath her. The youma's eyes widened.

Sailor Moon felt the heat radiate from her forehead. The light strengthened so much, that she made out the horrified facial expression of the youma just before the tiara flung from its resting place and into the body above her. The scream echoed around the cavern then quickly died out as it disappeared.

Sailor Moon relaxed her body as the danger dissipated. Her right hand hung limply on her forehead where she had released the tiara earlier. Taking in deep breaths, she calmed her heart down. 'Thank the Goddess above'.

The tiara came back to her, but the light did not fade. Sailor Moon held it in her hands and sat up. Glancing behind her with the light of the tiara, she picked up the rock that was digging into her back. It hummed as she picked it up.

Her eyes widened as she realized fate had actually tossed her a bone. "Thank you" she said to no one in particular before picking up the stone and quickly transporting home.

* * *

Usagi flung herself onto the kitchen bar stool the second she had landed in the apartment. Immediately, her mentors and the three shittenou had gathered around her. Luna looked up with worried eyes at the utterly spent figure in front of her.

"Don't worry, Luna. I just had a guest to greet first."

"Oh thank the stars. You never should have gone back alone though."

Usagi smiled. "Yes, I've heard that before, but I'm still here aren't I? Besides, lookie what I got?"

She pulled the stone out and placed it on the kitchen bar.

Everyone gathered around and stared.

"Are we sure this is the one?" Artemis questioned.

Usagi nodded, "Yepp. I can feel the energies in it."

Both felines stared at each other then nodded together. "Alright then" Luna said, "let us be done with it."

The three men stepped back with curious looks on their faces as Usagi stood up and pulled out her moon wand. Waving it over the stone with the incantation said, the rock vibrated and lit just like the others had. The light shot out into the room, and everyone shielded their eyes.

A moment later, the shout of a man sounded, and everyone looked back. There, on the counter, sat Jedeite in all his blonde glory staring right back.

Everyone was silent for a moment before Luna cleared her small throat and stepped forward. "Welcome Jedeite."

Jedeite didn't move, but instead stared at the shittenou with a huge glare. Luna looked between the two before trying again. "I, um, I know that you might be a little, well, frazzled at the moment, but everything will be explained shortly. I should introduce you to everyone. I am Lu-"

The cat was cut off as Jedeite leapt from the bar and tackled down Nephlite.

"You asshole!" he cried as he wrestled with the other on the carpet. Both seemed to be fairly even.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nephlite struggled out. He wrapped his leg around Jedeite's waist and flipped the two around, now sitting on top.

"I called you an asshole. You left me alone in that stupid, black abyss."

Zoicite went to step forward, but Kunzite held him back. "Why are you taking it out on Nephlite if we all are to blame?" Kunzite questioned.

Jedeite growled in anger. His struggle with Nephlite was too much since he had just came out of his small prison. He gave up.

"Nephlite was the last one that was talking to me before you all vanished. I was talking to myself for twenty god-damn minutes before I realised you were gone."

Nephlite leaned back and stared at Jedeite before erupting in laughter. "Ah you stupid idiot. How I wish I was there."

Jedeite mumbled and pushed Nephlite off of him. Kunzite and Zoicite stepped up to the two. Kunzite crossed his arms in his usual trademark style. "This is the real world again, Jedeite. It's been awhile since you've been back to Earth, so let me tell you that you're going to die if you keep up your childish games."

Jedeite glanced down in embarrassment.

The dirty-haired blonde standing beside Kunzite held his hand out to Jedeite. "Or at least upgrade your games to middle school age."

Jedeite grinned and accepted the hand.

Standing up, the four men clasped backs and laughed. "How the hell did we manage this?" Jedeite laughed out.

"We didn't." Kunzite stated.

Jedeite laughed again, "Well who cares. We're free from an imprisonment with no food, no drink, and no women. Let's celebrate."

The men smiled but didn't answer. Instead, they turned to glance at Usagi.

Jedeite looked and gave a big smile. "Hello, beautiful."

Usagi pursed her lips. It felt awkward considering her first major enemy was now flirting with her. Instead, she gave a weak, lopsided smile. "Hi."

Jedeite grinned and went to walk forward, but Kunzite grabbed the back on his tunic and held him back.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Nephlite laughed. "Did you leave your brain behind in the abyss as well as your maturity?"

Jedeite glared at him.

Nephlite walked forward to stand beside Usagi. "You just made a move on your King's lover."

Jedeite blanched as he stared at Usagi and made the connection. He kneeled quickly and suddenly. "Your highness, I had misplaced myself. Please forgive me."

The now even more surprised Usagi looked down at Luna for direction. She had not been queen in her lifetime.

Once again, Luna took the initiative. "Jedeite," she said softly as she stepped in front of the kneeling man, "although you remember her as a princess, this is a different lifetime."

Jedeite's head popped up at the statement. Silence ensued for several minutes until he finally spoke.

"Is that a youma?"


End file.
